“Gossips are worse than thieves because they steal another person's dignity, honest reputation and credibility… which are challenging to restore.” Salmansohn, K.
Savage, A. (n.d.) ‘Why gossiping in the workplace can impact your mental health and how to deal with the negativity.’ Sparta Health. [Online blog]: https://www.sparta-health.co.uk/gossiping-mental-health
Segal, L. (2019, 18 August). ‘The craziness of workplace mobbing.’ Conflict Remedy. [Blog post online]: https://conflictremedy.com/the-craziness-of-workplace-mobbing/
A brilliant definition is given:
“Mobbing (Mass bullying): A malicious attempt by a group at work, with collusion or participation by bosses and administration, to emotionally destroy a person and force them out of the workplace through unjustified accusations, isolation, humiliation, general harassment, emotional abuse and / or terror.”
More quotes I found insightful:
“Mobbing, also called bullying by a group, is all too prevalent in dysfunctional workplaces. It has many negative effects including impeding the productivity and harmony of an organization, causing health problems and PTSD in those who are the targets (scapegoats) and even in those who witness it…
Even friends and loved ones who care deeply about the person who is the target, can’t really understand the hell that they are going through. Unless you have experienced it yourself, it’s hard to believe the level of petty and enormous malice that a mob is capable of in a work situation where they feel threatened or somehow you have become a scapegoat….
If you witness mobbing, speak up. Depending on the situation, you can offer support to the target, offer a safe ear and place to vent, intervene and complain about their unfair treatment to management, shut it down.”
Suskind, D. (2023, 13 March). ‘Why workplace bullies try to make others invisible: Bullies use strategic ghosting to push the target out of the work community.’ Psychology Today. [Online blog]: https://www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/bully-wise/202303/why-workplaces-bullies-try-to-make-others-invisible
Emotionally abusive behaviour, like ghosting, is mostly linked to modern dating and relationships. However, it is also happening in workplaces. To quote from the article:
“The act of being ostracized activates the same regions in the brain as physical pain, reminding us that punches hurt, words wound, and silence debilitates… Such behavior, especially from people the target trusted and cared about, creates a type of morale wounding, an injury incurred when another person’s behavior is in radical opposition to one’s own code of compassionate conduct and ethics.”
Recommendations from articles on these topics are not one size fits all. In a university community, where senior executives like the national manager of employment relations and safety, along with those who authorise such reckless conduct, including a vice-chancellor, are the ones that must be “pushed out” of a once ethical institution. We need Leaders, not Dragons and Figureheads.
Suskind, D. (2021, 7 May). ‘Workplace bullying is a play: Meet the 6 characters. The play, “Psychological Terrorism”, rests on the plotlines of six archetypes.’. Psychology Today. [Online blog]: https://www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/bully-wise/202105/workplace-bullying-is-a-play-meet-the-6-characters
Highlights from this article:
“Innovators are community-minded but independent, fueled by internal curiosities and a strong moral compass, as opposed to a reliance on external validations. They are energized by perspectives that challenge their own beliefs, constantly attempting to outgrow themselves. These creatives make connections across communities, research fields, and content areas. Their inclusivity and propensity to ask questions enrage the Dragon, for her power diminishes when people talk.
Innovators often become the Dragon’s target for one of three reasons: Their productivity, popularity, and expertise threaten insecure colleagues; their creative ideas challenge the “we have always done it this way” mindset of the organization; or their high ethical standards charge them to expose questionable and illegal practices that hurt the people the company is called to serve…
Figureheads create steady but stagnant cultures that dull creativity, encourage compliance, and produce silence surrounding injustices.
By contrast, when a Leader hears the angst of an Innovator, she takes action by researching the problem, asking tough questions, and speaking truth to power in order to work for impactful change. Leaders, unlike Figureheads, earn their position by disrupting systems in search of solutions and tying their self-worth to ingenuity and progress, not their name on the door.
In Conclusion : Innovators ask “Why” and “What if?” Dragons are the bullies. Shapeshifters fuel the fire. Community Builders ignore the heat while smiling. Figureheads pretend there is no battle. Leaders walk into the war and stop the bullying.”
Swaity, S. (2022, 27 September). What NOT to do when being bullied at work. [Online]: https://discover.hubpages.com/business/When-You-Are-Bullied-At-Work
Training Improvement Solutions. (2024). ‘Does workplace bullying have long-term effects?’ [Online]: https://tistraining.com/does-workplace-bullying-have-long-term-effects/
University of East Anglia. (2025, 22 February). ‘Workplace bullying linked to sleep problems in employees and their partners.’ News Medical Life Sciences. [Online review]: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250222/Workplace-bullying-linked-to-sleep-problems-in-employees-and-their-partners.aspx
Reviews the findings in recent research published:
Rodríguez-Muñoz, A., et al. (2025). ‘Your Job Makes us Lose Sleep: The Effect of Workplace Bullying on Own and Partner’ Insomnia’. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. doi.org/10.1177/08862605251318291
Wilson, C.R. (2021, 18 December). ‘Workplace bullying: 24 examples & ideas to support adults.’ Positive Psychology. [Online blog]: https://positivepsychology.com/workplace-bullying/
Yamada, D. (2014, 30 August). ‘Workplace bullying as crazy making abuse.’ Minding the Workplace: The New Workplace Institute Blog. [Online blog]: https://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/workplace-bullying-as-crazy-making-abuse/
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